Selected by Ian Hylands - There's a lot more to this shot than it seems at first look. It's not easy to shoot up at trees and have them stay perfectly straight, if I had to guess I'd say this is a great example of the "proper" use of a tilt shift, specifically the 24mm 3.5 from Nikon. This is also a shot that looks amazing in B&W, and it's beautifully composed.
I don't know what it is in me, but I really like it because it's a-symmetric. Good job finding this one Ian, you guys have been really picking some good PODs lately. Keep it up!
Well, if he did use a tilt-shift, that sure is a pricey lens... hard to justify the cost unless he's primarily an architectural photographer (the same effect can be achieved in editing without dropping $3,000 on a lens). Though, it is a good guess since there is a Nikon tilt-shift available with that same focal length and max aperture as the lens used for the photo.
Perhaps he is an architect? Or perhaps he has plenty of money to blow on lenses? What others do with their own money is up to themselves at the end of the day. It's a cool photo!
I was waiting for that comment, glad you made it! Tilt shift lenses weren't designed to make things blurry, they were designed to get rid of the distortion that comes from shooting something at an angle. As the comments about architecture above suggest they're great at fixing buildings that lean together as you look up at them, and trees that do the same thing... This one is properly labelled as a PC lens, that stands for perspective control...
Thanks for giving me a proper insight to this, I've just read up a little bit more on what perspective control actually stands for so im a bit more clued up now. Ive just used a lens baby recently to try out tilt shift, and a big tilt lens on a bronica medium format. Im going to use them some more so i can properly understand how without any change in the perspective the shots seem wider, and spread further out.
perhaps one day when i can prove im a good enough photographer i could join the ranks of you and sterling, here on pinkbike and i could make my own comments about the images.
cheers Jack
i really like this photo. the image reflects a lot of the clear cuts and large area burns that occur out west, and with that kind of devastation to an area, the photo projects a sense of loss and gloom. this is kind of reinforced in the black and white. and then with the addition of the rider/trail it kind of brings a sense of hopefulness to the location in that it can still be enjoyed/used even though the loss of trees in the area has been so overwhelming.
way better then yesterdays pod. yesterdays was shit.
Ian is right, 24mm tilt shift. I thought I would use this lens to make things 'miniature' but realized quickly that keeping things 'straight' was what I really liked about this lens.
i absolutely love the photo. but wheres the tilt shift? ive just used some tiltshift equipment and i cant see where that image is being blurred from one side. can anyone see the blurryness??
The tilt-shift lenses don't only blur edges of the image. The also straighten out converging lines, like with buildings and trees as you look upward. That's why they are used quite a lot for architectural photos.